Four fingers and thirteen toes

By Emma Bowler

The opening chapters of Rosie’s autobiography alternate between the stories of her giving birth, the birth of Thalidomide and her own birth. Before you know it you are drawn into a story that makes you proud to be a disabled person.

Rosie Moriarty-Simmonds was born with four fingers and thirteen toes after her mother took the drug Thalidomide to combat morning sickness. Her book is testimony not only to Rosie’s fortitude but also to the strength of her parents who refused to take the advice of doctors and just leave her at the hospital. On the “luckiest day of my life”, Rosie went home rather than join the 45 per cent of Thalidomide children abandoned in institutions, and grew up in the heart of her family.

Rosie doesn’t shy away from including negative memories, such as painful medical intervention and the impact of being stared at.

But these negative experiences are balanced with positive milestones – passing her driving test, graduation, marriage – and humour.

April 2008 marks 50 years since the introduction of Thalidomide into the British market. The introduction to the book says Rosie’s story is about “guts and determination and intelligence and skill” – attributes that any mother would rightly be proud of.

• Four Fingers and Thirteen Toes by Rosaleen Moriarty-Simmonds; ISBN 09548883-2-4; La Fontaine Media; £11.95